There is just over a month until one of the most controversial World Cups in history will take place. Between November 20 and December 18, 1.5 million people from around the world are expected to come to Qatar. Last week, the last of a total of 2.8 million tickets went on sale. At the Dhaka airport in Bangladesh, 390 miles east of Qatar, the elderly, women and children are waiting anxiously. Here the families are waiting for the VM workers to come home. Photo: Abdullah Apu All eyes are turned towards terminal two – they are searching for familiar faces. By family. This morning, three low-cost flights carrying migrant workers have landed at the airport. All flights come from Qatar. Several say that they have been told that they are now on leave and that they must leave the country – for at least four months. Waiting for a phone call from the boss One of the migrant workers is Shafiqul Alom. While wheeling his luggage, he tells news that there is not room for everyone during the WC. – The companies that have projects in the city center have stopped work. There are fewer tasks, and then it becomes difficult to retain all the employees. So that’s why they give us time off, he says. When the World Cup is over, Shafiqul Alom will find out if he has a job to go back to or not. Photo: Abdullah Apu Alom says that the salary at the start was poor, with approximately NOK 2,900 paid each month. After a salary increase, he received NOK 4,100 a month. Although the company he worked for has provided return tickets, Alom is not sure if he will return to Qatar. – The company has said that “if we call, you can come back – or find something else”, he says. Sent back in bulk The authorities in Qatar have previously sent out a document in which they write that the workforce must be reduced in the period from 21 September to 18 January. So far, no one has figures on how many workers are leaving the country. Several migrant workers news speaks to say it is several hundred thousand. They are sent back in droves. However, the government in Qatar refutes that this is a demand from the authorities. – There are no requirements from the authorities for companies to send employees home or reduce the workforce before the World Cup. The Ministry of Labor continues to approve new recruitment applications in the construction sector and encourages companies to retain workers locally. Travelers exit Terminal Two at Dhaka Airport in Bangladesh. Photo: Abdullah Apu They write this in a statement to news and add: – Independent measures from companies to reduce the workforce must be implemented in accordance with the law and must not have a negative impact on the employees’ well-being. Read the full statement from Qatar’s government further down in the matter. According to Bangladesh’s embassy in Doha, some companies have already given leave to their workers. The embassy cannot estimate how many workers have left Qatar. Nor how many will leave the country in the future. – It is difficult to say, because neither the companies nor the workers inform us, says the embassy to news. – Sad not to be able to see the World Cup In the afternoon, the atmosphere at the airport is somewhat different. The migrant workers who earn well then land in Dhaka. And they fly direct. Nazrul Islam has worked as a driver in Qatar. He has earned around NOK 4,500 a month. He thinks it is sad that he has had to return to his home country. The reason is a personal problem, says Islam. Actually, he wanted to be in Qatar during the World Cup – his favorite team will be playing. – What makes me saddest is that I don’t get to watch the football matches. I have been to the stadium many times and it is so nice there. You don’t want to leave there, says Islam. Nazrul Islam wanted to watch the matches in Qatar but returned home due to a personal problem. Photo: Abdullah Apu But he also talks about difficult working conditions. – Many have lost their lives in the workplace because of the heat in Qatar. Over 6,500 migrant workers lost their lives in work accidents in Qatar, according to The Guardian. The figure is debated and is based on figures from various embassies, including the Bangladeshi embassy in Qatar. In recent years, the WC country has been criticized for poor working conditions. In response to the criticism, the authorities introduced a minimum wage of NOK 1,700 a month. Feeling lucky Muhammad Osman Gani is also landing this day in Dhaka. He has worked as a scaffolder at the Ras Abu Aboud Stadium. Muhammad Osman Gani says he is going home of his own accord. Photo: Abdullah Apu Before he got the job in Qatar, he paid 300,000 Bangladeshi taka, about NOK 31,000, in migration costs. In the beginning, Gani had a poor salary. It took him two years to pay off the migration costs. But now he is satisfied with both his salary and his job. He says that it is not true that the companies force the workers to go home. – My company has not sent me back. I have chosen to travel while I have time off. I do that because I have things I have to take care of at home. The families are waiting for their loved ones who have been migrant workers in Qatar. Photo: Abdullah Apu Gani feels lucky to have been able to work in one of the World Cup stadiums. – I feel lucky to have been able to see and work in a stadium, where the football matches will be played. I liked it, says Gani. Concerned about migrant workers Frank Conde Tangberg, political adviser at Amnesty, says they are concerned about reports of migrant workers being returned before the football World Cup. Tangberg will not comment on specific workers, but speaks on a general basis. – Many have been dependent on taking out loans to pay illegal recruitment expenses before traveling to Qatar. Preferably to earn money and contribute to the family’s expenses in the home country. According to Tangberg, it can be difficult to pay such loans when you earn little. In addition, the loans may have high interest rates. – We have documented that many are victims of wage theft or delayed payment of wages. When the salary is not paid, the loans grow. – It is sad that these migrant workers, who have made it possible to carry out this football World Cup, cannot be there to see it, says Frank Conde Tangberg. Photo: Privat Tangberg says that employers handle the situation in different ways. Some contracts are terminated in an orderly manner. Wages are paid and workers’ rights are safeguarded. Others are exploited and are not paid the wages they are entitled to. At the same time, they may be exposed to work-related injuries, without receiving compensation for this. – For some, it will mean major health problems and expenses, and a precarious financial future, says Tangberg. – Have no choice but to go back Nicholas McGeehan is a Middle East expert and former researcher for the human rights organization Human Rights Watch. He emphasizes that Qatar would not have managed without migrant workers. Middle East expert Nicholas McGeehan. Photo: news McGeehan believes that it is primarily those who have worked on the football World Cup who are now being sent home – because the building work is finished. – If they are sent home before the contracts have expired, it is very problematic. Many of them have taken out large loans to get to Qatar. – The debt can send the workers into terrible situations, he adds. This is how the authorities in Qatar respond There are no requirements from the authorities that companies should send employees home or reduce the workforce before the World Cup. The Ministry of Labor continues to approve new recruitment applications in the construction sector and encourages companies to retain workers locally. Independent measures by companies to reduce the workforce must be implemented in accordance with the law and must not have a negative impact on the well-being of employees. Qatari labor law gives both employers and employees the right to terminate the employment contract before it has expired, provided that the party wishing to terminate notifies the other party and complies with the legal notice period. At the end of the employee’s service, the employer must pay all wages and financial contributions, including the severance package. Foreign nationals have the right to seek alternative employment in Qatar if their contract is terminated. Under Qatari immigration laws, foreign nationals have 90 days from the expiry of their residence permit to change jobs before being required to leave the country. Companies that do not comply with Qatar’s labor laws are subject to public prosecution, banned from operating in Qatar and denied access to Ministry of Labor services. Qatar is committed to a fair and efficient labor system, and we value the indispensable role of foreign workers in our economy and society at large. Source: The Qatari government’s press department When news leaves the airport in Dhaka, new planes with workers are still landing. Men arrive on foot with large suitcases on even larger trolleys. Elderly, women and children meet their loved ones with jubilation. There are warm hugs and joy – before the families head home together. There, the WC workers will watch the football matches on a TV screen.
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While Qatar prepares “WC party”, the migrant workers return home – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcast schedule
